EDTC 605

Artifact – Final Project using Scratch

Reflection

The purpose of this final project was to encapsulate as much of our learning from the course as possible. I observed that a lot of the learning centered around how much of a role visual literacy is playing in our lives, especially in the live of our students. We had also tinkered briefly with Scratch. I opted to combine these two elements into the project above. I have included this product in my capstone because I feel it is one of the few artifacts that displays my sense of humor.

I have not gotten the opportunity to introduce Scratch to any of my students yet, but that is certainly on the docket for second semester. My hope is to get students performing simple tasks, such as changing the sprite (character), getting it to move, and getting it to “talk”. I would of course be thrilled with students that figure out how to insert sound files on their own.

While I have not gotten to Scratch, what I have used extensively are the ideas of visual literacy. Our school has a very high second language learner population (80%). As a result, visuals are often the most effective way to communicate. This is particularly true for very process oriented tasks such as creating a new Google Doc or Form. I do a lot of modeling tasks before asking students to do the same. I also refer to the color and shape of a “button” in a program or on a website as much as the word on it so students make those associations.

Standards Exhibited

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.

address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies and providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.

develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.

exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others.

evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.

contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community.

Artifact – Open Source Paper

Reflection

The purpose of this assignment was to research the foundations and main arguments for and against the use of open source software in a school setting. One of the more interesting things I learned was that open source does not necessarily equate with free. I believe this is an important distinction to make. Open source simply means that the parts and tools used to create a program are made available to the public. This allows communities of users to improve on the program or customize it. The immediate implication I see for students is this gives them the ability to actively participate and contribute to a wider community and receive feedback on their work from someone other than the teacher.

I have not had the opportunity yet to have students manipulate the inner workings of a piece of open source software. That being said, 4 class sets of netbooks in our 1:1 program run on the Ubuntu distribution of Linux and all software on them is open source (with the exception of Google Chrome). I have also brought several pieces of open source software (TuxPaint in particular) into the computer lab for use by my younger students.

Standards Exhibited

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices.

advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership
Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources.

exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others.

evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.